When the Minnesota Vikings asked wide receiver Adam Thielen to take a pay cut earlier in the offseason, he made the best possible decision for himself by politely declining to lower his $11.8 million base salary. After less than a week on the free agency market, Thielen signed a massive three-year $25 million contract with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday evening, securing a lucrative payday for himself through the end of the 2025 season.
Hear Thielen gets 3 years, $25M w/ $14M guaranteed, $10M in first year. Works out very well for him financially and role-wise. #Panthers https://t.co/oMY79qwBFd
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) March 20, 2023
Though the Vikings surely would’ve preferred to keep their home-grown receiver, the raw numbers of Thielen’s new deal would have proven to be more than they are currently equipped to offer him. Minnesota is still fighting salary cap constraints even after parting ways with him last week and will need to get creative to find money to pay prospective free agent targets as well as their draft class.
These considerations certainly aren’t the most exciting for Vikings fans who wish they could’ve retained the long-tenured receiver, though the writing seemed to be on the wall for Thielen’s future since the offseason began in February. Minnesota simply couldn’t afford the luxury of Thielen’s presence on their roster in 2023, and the Panther pounced on the opportunity to secure his services at the first chance they got.
